The present invention relates generally to a collapsible hub assembly. More specifically, the present invention relates to a collapsible hub assembly adapted for easy removal of a material pack wound onto a hub of the collapsible hub assembly without having to unwind the material pack from the hub in order to facilitate removal of the material pack.
It is often desirable to quickly and efficiently remove a material from a hub (also commonly referred to as a spool or a reel) onto which the material has been wound. For instance, after conducting tests on magnetic tape, the tape can be damaged or is no longer suitable for further testing. Consequently, it is desirable to dispose of the tape. However, because the hub, reel, or spool is undamaged, it is desirable to only dispose of the tape and to keep the hub, reel, or spool.
Previously, unwanted tape was unwound from the hub, either manually or machine assisted, taking time and creating a large pile of tape. The resulting pile of tape often created a mess and the pile had to be manually gathered before the pile could be disposed of. The tape was not easy to remove from the hub as one piece because as the tape is wound onto the hub the tension on the tape creates a radially inward force on the hub that binds the tape to the hub. As additional layers of the tape are wound onto the hub the force increases. After the tape has been wound onto the hub, the tape forms a tape pack that is fixedly connected to the hub with sufficient force such that the tape pack cannot be easily removed from the hub.
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art spool 100 that includes a hub 101 and a flange 103 that is attached to the hub 101. A tape 105 is wound 107 onto the hub 101 by rotating 109 the spool 100 about a rotational axis 111 to gather the tape 105 onto the hub 101. Tension on the tape 105 results in the tape 105 imparting a radially inward force 115 on the hub 101. The radially inward force 115 results in the tape 105 being fixedly connected to the hub 101.
In FIG. 2, the tape 105 is wound onto the hub 101 forming a tape pack 117. The tape pack 117 is fixedly connected to the hub 101 by the radially inward force 115. Although FIGS. 1 and 2 only show four arrows for the radially inward force 115, the radially inward force 115 is acting along the entire circumference of the hub 101. Consequently, the tape pack 117 is connected to the hub 101 with sufficient force such that removal of the entire tape pack 117 is difficult. For instance, because of the radially inward force 115, removal of the tape pack 117 by hand is very difficult if not impossible.
Accordingly, in FIG. 2, removal of the tape pack 117 from the spool 100 requires the tape 105 to be unwound 121 from the hub 101. Unwinding of the tape 105 can be accomplished either by advancing the tape 105 in the unwind direction of arrow 121 or by rotating 119 the spool 100 about the rotational axis 111. On the other hand, the tape can also be removed by allowing the tape to fall off or be pulled off of the hub in an axial direction. As mentioned above, unwinding the tape 105 is time consuming and the resulting pile of tape is messy. Although FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a tape being wound, the problems associated with the tape 105 apply to other materials including film, wire, cable, paper, textiles, and the like.
Therefore, there is a need for a hub assembly that allows a material that is wound onto a hub to be easily removed from the hub without having to unwind the material from the hub and that allows the material to be removed as one piece so that the material can be easily disposed of.
The above mentioned needs are met by the collapsible hub assembly of the present invention. The problems and disadvantages of having to unwind a material from a hub are solved by a hub assembly that includes a hub and a movable wedge. The wedge is movable between a locked position and a collapsed position. In the locked position, the material is wound onto a portion of both the hub and the wedge. The material is fixedly connected to the hub and the wedge by a force that acts radially inward on the hub and wedge. When the wedge is moved to the collapsed position, the force acting on the hub is reduced so that the material is no longed fixedly connected to the hub and the material can be removed from the hub assembly without having to unwind the material.
Advantages of the collapsible hub assembly of the present invention include: a material pack that can be easily removed from the hub it is wound onto without having to unwind the material to effect removal; the material pack can be removed as one piece so that the material pack can be easily disposed of; elimination of the messy pile cause by unwinding a material from the hub; a substantial reduction in the amount of time and effort required to remove the material from the hub; the one-piece material pack is in a compact form that is amendable for future use or for recycling of the material; and the material pack can be removed by hand.
Broadly, the present invention is embodied in a collapsible hub assembly that includes a hub having a slot formed therein, a first contact surface, and a wedge movably positioned in the slot and having a second contact surface. The wedge is movable to a locked position where a material pack to be wound onto the hub is urged into contact with the first contact surface and the second contact surface with a first force that fixedly connects the material pack to the hub and the wedge. The wedge is movable to a collapsed position where the second contact surface is disengaged from the material pack resulting in a reduction in the first force so that the material pack is no longer fixedly connected to the hub when the wedge is in the collapsed position. Consequently, when the wedge is in the collapsed position the material pack can be removed from the hub in one piece.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the collapsible hub assembly includes a flange attached to the hub and adapted to physically contain the material pack along a plane.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the collapsible hub assembly includes a lock adapted to be removably inserted into the slot. The lock is in contact with the wedge and fixedly positions the wedged at the locked position when the lock is inserted in the slot. The wedge is movable to the collapsed position by removing the lock from the slot.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the lock can include a first flange attached to the lock and adapted to physically contain the material pack along a first plane.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the hub and the lock are mounted in fixed relation to each other.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the hub and the wedge are mounted in fixed relation to each other.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the wedge and the hub form a nearly complete circle along the first and second contact surfaces when the wedge is in the locked position.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the present invention.